Fish hooks are typically used by recreational fishermen and sometimes in commercial fishing. Hooks of various sizes and shapes have been developed in attempts to maximize effectiveness for different methods of fishing and for different species of fish. A typical fishhook is formed from a section of round steel wire that has been bent into a U shape at one end and has an eye at the other end to attach a fishing line. The end of the U bend has a sharpened point and usually one barb near the end of the sharpened section a short distance down from the point. A hook having a small barb positioned near the point serves to increase the ability to hook the fish, especially if the fish just nibbles at the bait, while a larger barb further from the point improves the likelihood of preventing the fish from getting free of the hook after it is hooked. It is therefore advantageous to have a fish hook with multiple barbs of progressively increasing size with increasing distance from the point or tip.
Another feature that can improve hooking success is to have the point section faceted to provide cutting edges where the facets join. This allows the point to more easily penetrate the fish's mouth to a depth of penetration past the barb(s). What is needed is a fish hook that can provide initial hooking and barb engagement close to the point of the hook, and then gradually increasing the size of the barbs as the hook continues to penetrate further into the fish's mouth. This can best be accomplished by using a faceted point in combination with a gradually increasing size of barb(s) as the kook penetration progresses.
Although single barb fish hooks with point sections of circular cross-section are most common, some fish hooks with multiple barbs and/or faceted point sections have been developed to improve the effectiveness of hooking fish and preventing the fish from disengaging or shaking the hook loose. An example of a hook with a regular barb and some smaller beards (barbs) is described by Martin in U.S. Pat. No. 523,988, issued on Aug. 7, 1894. The beards, while smaller than the ordinary barb, are all disposed in a vertical alignment upon the inner side of the hook portion below the point, and having the usual inner edge inclined toward the point. The patentee does not include a faceted point section in the description.
Another fish hook with multiple barbs is disclosed by Edgar in U.S. Pat. No. 620,896, issued on Mar. 14, 1899. Here, the barbs are disposed either in the direction toward the shank of the hook or in a direction preferably at right angles to a line extending across the space between the short arm and the shank of the hook. The disclosure does not include any specific differentiation in the sizes of the barbs and does not mention any facets of the tapered point.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,906,054, issued to Morehead on Sep. 29, 1959, a typical fish hook is described having a slender tapered point wherein the conventional large barb is eliminated and replaced by a large number of very minute spines. The slender tapered point is not faceted and, while the minute spines provide some advantage where only a very light force is required to effect the initial hook-set, a large barb should also be included to further engage the fish's mouth with a final hook-set that penetrates the fish's mouth deeper and provides a more secure purchase to reduce the likelihood of the fish being able to disengage or shake the hook loose.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,875, issued to Hoben et al. on Jun. 1, 1993, discloses a fish hook with preferably two barbs of identical size wherein the second barb is located directly behind the first barb. This arrangement of same-sized barbs doesn't contribute substantially in facilitating an easy (light insertion force) hook-set, and the second barb doesn't engage or hold a different part of the fish's mouth from that of the first barb. With the multiple barbs being in general alignment, they don't provide any significant advantage over a single barb, because all of the barbs engage the same penetration point of the mouth. Also, the barbs, as shown in FIG. 3 are located below the triangular-shaped member (104) (the point section). The fish hook would be more effective if the top barb were smaller and disposed up on the triangular section of the point and not directly in line with the second barb.
The above-mentioned disclosures have multiple barbs, but the barbs are not configured in the most advantageous manner to facilitate hooking the fish and retaining the fish on the hook. As detailed herein, there are a number of improvements and features that can be incorporated to greatly increase the effectiveness of a fish hook, especially the point section of a fish hook.